Take time daily to reflect on how much you have. It may not be all that you want but it is all you have. All you have is not all you want but it is always all you need. Do you have a heart, a mind, a soul, life or a moment? Then you have all you need. All what life has to offer emanates from these. “Cultivating an attitude of gratitude begins with counting your blessings”. In simpler terms, gratitude is expressing thanks for gifts we receive.
An attitude of gratitude means making it a habit to express thankfulness and appreciation in all parts of your life, on a continual basis, for both the big and not-so-big things alike. “If you appreciate what you have, you make room for more. If you concentrate on what you don’t have, you’ll never have enough.” Truth is, there is no neutral ground between ungratefulness and gratitude. You’re either grateful or you’re not. If your words doesn’t say it, your actions will.
If the gratitude process is hard to get started, begin by asking yourself, “What could I be grateful for?”, and see if the ideas start to flow. Every day won’t be perfect, but focusing on what we are grateful for tends to wash away feelings of regret and negativity. Gratitude is about feeling and expressing appreciation: for all we’ve received, all that we have (however little it may be), and for all that has not befallen us. It functions as an antidote for attachment to what we want but don’t have and aversion to what we have but don’t want. It is the expression of love that takes away the bitterness and hopelessness.
Gratitude changes perspective—it can sweep away most of the petty, day-to-day annoyances on which we focus so much of our attention—the “small stuff” situations that bring up feelings of impatience, intolerance, negative judgment, indignation, anger, or resentment. Gratitude is a vehicle to diffuse self-pity and self-centeredness, increase feelings of well-being, and prompt mindful awareness of that which is beyond oneself—of belonging to a greater whole, and of connection to others, as well as to the world.
It’s valuable to be aware that nearly all experiences have both “positive” and “negative” aspects. Circumstances that are brutally physically and/or emotionally painful often contain considerable psycho-spiritual blessings in the forms of learning, growth, and healing. That is not to say that it is good you went through that hard time. All I’m saying is, even something good can come out of something bad.
Sometimes we have to work harder to locate the positive and unearth its gifts (and sometimes these become manifest only in retrospect)—but if we make the time and invest the energy to look closely and search consciously, we will find them. There is always something to be grateful for, no matter how negative or desperate things may seem.
If only you took your eyes off other people’s journey and sat down to appreciate your own journey. All things work together for the good. However, never forget this; it is those you are truly grateful in the hard times who really reap the full potential of fruitfulness when the storm is over. The storm will definitely be over, but your gratitude should never be.
Just as ungratefulness gives us a bad time even during our good days, so does gratitude give us a good heart and a good mind as we face the vicissitudes of life.
I love you ❤️
